Peter P is right - make sure you get every single bit. If pulling from another car you may need to cut/angle grind bolts in order to get the mounting plates off.
The one just in front of the fuel tank is a real pain if the bolts are rusted.

Be very wary of anything offered to you as a "complete set". It may not include some of these hard to remove bits.

The positioning for the backing plate for the main catch assembly is especially crital. You need to study the mechanism and see exactly what is happening when you put the seat up and click the locking mechanism into place. It is easy to get it slightly off so that either it won't lock or it won't release.

QAlso be careful drilling the holes blind- there is a fuel pipe just underneath!
Put some kind of collar on the drill so that it doesn't suddenly burst through.

Don't know your year, but by '88 not all the holes are still there for you. The holes that were still there are the upper seat belt anchors, the holes in the wooden cover, and the lower "restraining" strap on the left (not the right!). That meant I had to drill holes through the wheel well for lower seat belt, the headliner lip for the grab handle, the seat backs for the two metal clips, the floor for all 6 (7?) bolts.
You'll need the instructions if you've never done this before. I didn't have them, but I had the luxury of pulling the parts from the wrecking yard. On that note, make sure you have *all* the parts! There are alot of them, including reinforcing plates. Every nut, bolt and washer matters, this is your kids lives back there.

Peter P.
Portland, OR

I've emailed you the set of instructions and notes that I have.

-Ted

When I bought my 1983 245GL, it had the third seat option in it. I met a young family of five that really needed said seat for their 245DL, and we made a deal. For a small fee, we would swap the appropriate parts of the two wagons.

Most luckily, I had the Volvo instructions for installing the seat. It was a dealer-installed option. What we found was that in almost every case, the things needed to install the seat were already thre from the factory.

Took a number of hours, but everything worked. The hand grip that goes at the top of the cargo door needs bases to which to bolt onto, and they were there behind the headliner.

The seat belt anchors on the wheel covers needed nuts inside the wheel well (visible from the outside above the tire) and they were there from the factory. We used an ice pick from the outside to punch a starter hole in the carpet cover. There is also a nut welded to the roof for another seat belt anchor. Again, it's behind the headliner.

Attaching the seat to the compartment cover was not done, and we just swapped that whole part. However, there are holes through the plywood that you can see, that locate where the bolts must go.

We did have to locate and attach the loops to the seatback of the second seat. There was something else, I can't remember. Careful attention and lots of common sense worked.

Chat up the oldest parts clerk you can find at a dealer, some of them are pack rats and may have those instructions.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)